Figure F13. A. Illustration of effects of oceanographic and tectonic loading on formation fluid pressure and flow. B. Response to loading can be broken into elastic (instantaneous) and diffusive components. C. Transients propagate away from boundaries between regions of contrasting elastic properties as a damped diffusive wave with a characteristic scale that depends on permeability. D. Elastic response expressed as loading efficiency (γ in B) depends on the compressibility of the sediment framework and the compressibility of the interstitial water that may contain free gas. E. Response of pressure to volumetric strain in sediment depends primarily on porosity because the compressibility of the matrix is greater than that of water (dotted lines = grain and water compressibilities). (Figures after Wang and Davis, 1996; Wang et al., 1998; and Davis et al., 2000.)
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